Study Abroad: US embassy in India announces new rules for student visa applicants to prevent fraud

NEW DELHI: The United States Embassy in India announced new criteria for student visa applicants on Friday in order to prevent fraud and trickery of appointments.

The policy change will be implemented by US consulates around the country, including the one in Hyderabad, from November 27, 2023 onwards.

“All F, M, and J student visa applicants must use their own passport information when creating a profile and scheduling their visa appointment,” read a statement released by the embassy.

Attention Students!
To prevent fraud and abuse of the appointment system, we are announcing the following policy change which will be implemented beginning November 27, 2023.

All F, M, and J student visa applicants must use their own passport information when creating a profile… pic.twitter.com/2JqoEg3DJ1

— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) November 24, 2023

According to the new guidelines, applicants who created a profile or scheduled an appointment with an inaccurate passport number will not be accepted at the Visa Application Centres (VAC), and their appointments along with visa fee will be revoked.

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Any applicant who has created a profile or booked an appointment using an incorrect passport number can correct their error by either creating a new profile with the correct passport information or accessing an existing profile with the correct passport information to book an appointment. However, If the previous receipt was linked to a profile with inaccurate passport information, applicant will have to make payment of a new visa fee receipt.

According to the embassy, applicants who have recently renewed their passports will be permitted to proceed with their scheduled appointment if they offer a photocopy or other proof of their old passport number.